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Michigan gets $3.6 million contract for TB testing

LANSING — The Michigan Department of Community Health's Bureau of Laboratories is getting a $3.6 million contract to test tuberculosis specimens from around the country.

The funding for Mycobacterium tuberculosis genotyping for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was announced Thursday.

Community Health Director James K. Haveman said in a statement that Michigan is poised to be a "global leader" in the work. The state has been involved in such testing since the 1990s.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the organism that causes tuberculosis. Michigan typically reports about 120 TB cases each year. TB is spread through the air, and officials say genotyping results can help establish links between one patient and another.

The work can help prevent further spread of the illness. The CDC contract runs through November 2017.